Teething and your baby

Teething and your baby

Teething

A baby’s first tooth usually appears at around 6 months; however, this can vary greatly.

By the age of 3 a child should have a full set of 20 baby teeth (10 in each jaw).

It is not uncommon for babies to experience some discomfort when new teeth break through the gums.

Teething signs and symptoms

Symptoms that indicate your baby may be teething include:

• red swollen gums
• flushed cheeks
• dribbling
• irritability or restlessness
• a slight fever
• pulling the ear on the same side as the erupting tooth
• sucking fingers and fists.

Teething relief

Mild teething problems may be eased by the baby chewing on hard objects such as chilled teething rings or sugar-free rusks.

Alternatively, you can give your baby a dummy or wet flannel to bite on. It may also help to rub your child’s gums with a clean finger or the back of a cold spoon.

See your dentist or doctor before using any pain reliever or oral gel containing an anesthetic, or if problems persist.

Cleaning baby’s mouth

Start cleaning gums before the teeth appear.

At first, use a clean damp cloth to wipe the gums, and when a few teeth are present use a small, soft toothbrush with no toothpaste.

When your child is 18 months, you can start to use a small pea-sized amount of toothpaste, we recommend a product called snappy jaws as it has no fluoride. Your child is more inclined to swallow the toothpaste at this age, as they get older start to teach them to spit out the excess.